Magelang Tempo Doeloe, Reminiscing About Magelang’s Past

A banner of Kota Toea Magelang community. Image taken on Sunday, February 9, 2014.

By: Sahrudin – @SahrudinSaja

MAGELANG Municipality Arts Council (DKKM) is organizing an exhibition titled Magelang Tempo Doeloe, literally Magelang’s past, in the Alun-alun (the public square).

The public show opened on Wednesday, May 14 and will run until Sunday, May 18, 2014.

Magelang Tempo Doeloe, being held in collaboration with various local communities, is also part of Magelang Municipality 1108th Anniversary.

Communities participating in the exhibition are: Kota Toea Magelang (historical preservation and heritage community), Magelang’s VOC old bike community, Indonesian Classic Car Enthusiasts Club (PPMKI), Tosan Aji Satryatama (keris, or kris enthusiasts), as well as a number of other communities and sponsors.

The sense of Magelang’s past arises, for example, from street names ever existed during the Dutch colonial period, and then present at several places in the exhibition site.

On the west side of the Alun-alun, Kota Toea Magelang community installed a replica of Plengkung Badaan — half round shape entrance built by the Dutch in the 1920s.

The RSPD (local government-owned radio station) displays memorable photographs of broadcasting activities since the 1970s, including its old radio mixer and records and antique radios, as well as dozens of cassettes of “Tutur Tinular”, one of the most well liked radio dramas in the 1990s.

Antique typewriters, the PDAM’s (local tap water company) old-fashioned water meter calculator to Post Office’s old bicycles that were used to deliver mails also can be seen.

Visitors of Magelang Tempo Doeloe can watch movies on the layar tancap (outdoor movie screening) which was popular until the 1980s.

Old photographs of Magelang to local street foods can also be found in the exhibition.***

"I wish I could show you the little village, Magelang of Central Java, where I was born and where I live now. It's so lovely here...I used to think it too small to spend a life in, but now I'm not so sure..."

MBAK JUMINTEN ASKS:

“If you had a chance for a ‘do-over’ in life, what would you do differently?”